The Colors of Life
by DarklessVasion
Summary: InuYasha and Gang do their best to thwart yet another of Naraku's plots and that's where things go wrong. "How dangerous can a blank scroll be?" (First Story - COMPLETE!)
1. The Lonely Shrine

Summary: InuYasha and Gang do their best to thwart yet another of Naraku's plots and that's where things go wrong. "How dangerous can a blank scroll be?"  
  
**The Colors of Life**  
  
- Authors Note: Hello. This is my first fanfic. I've been reading them for over a month and decided to try my hand at it. I love InuYasha (I've watched up to #145 and the first two movies in the original Japanese with subtitles) and really wanted to make a story that could easily slip into the real episodes almost anywhere, without copying anything that has already been done. A friend came up with a plot, and my niece was my sounding board for the story. I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. -  
  
Info: InuYasha often uses a 'claw' attack and yells "Sankontessou!" (spelling iffy) and I much prefer the original translation of "Soul Shattering Iron Claw" in the subbed Japanese eps to the dubbed version's "Iron Reaver Soul Stealer"  
  
Disclaimer – I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters. They are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation that I hope is up to the quality of the real series.  
  
**Chapter 1: The Lonely Shrine**  
  
Deep in the forest lay a small shrine watched over by an elderly monk. He goes about his daily tasks with a serene orderliness, the music of birds competing with chimes hanging from the roof. Charms, old and new, that surround the clearing all around the building, flutter in the gentle breeze. He stops sweeping steps to breathe deeply, closing his eyes in the warm sun. Smiling to himself, he opens his eyes and begins to sweep again.  
  
Something, a shadow moving at the corner of his clouding vision stops his motion as the birds suddenly go silent...  
  
A dark-clad figure stood in the darkness under the trees surrounded by things that cluster around him eagerly. The figure raises an arm and makes a forward motion, the creatures snarl and rush toward the clearing around a small building where an old monk stands staring before dropping his broom and running inside.  
  
The first of the swarming youkai pass the outermost row of charms, and are suddenly repelled by a bright flash of light; some disintegrate, as others lie writhing on the ground. Yet more youkai, growling and slobbering, slam into the barrier and are likewise defeated. Larger more cunning demons circle around, testing here and there, looking for a weak spot, their frustration growing with every stinging flash.  
  
The old monk with a determined look on his wizened face and prayers on his lips, strode out briskly to face them, holding a gold-capped staff. The youkai looked at him hungrily, their movements growing more frenzied.  
  
One of the charms burst into flames and the demons pushed through the opening in the barrier, only to be stopped by a second row of protection. Their howls rang throughout the forest as more of their numbers were destroyed. The dark figure under the trees continued to watch as the circling began again...

==============================

A young girl, wearing a green and white school uniform and pushing a bicycle down the dusty path, rolled her eyes and glanced back at two of her companions walking behind to share her amusement.  
  
One was a good looking Monk, wearing robes and carrying a tall staff that chimed as he walked, a string of beads wrapped noticeably around his right hand. The other was a demure looking young woman carrying a twin-tailed cat and a rather large boomerang strapped across her back; the only visible mark of her demon-exterminating skills.  
  
The two shared a look and smiled back at Kagome as they all listened to the argument between the kitsune and the hanyou that had been going on since breakfast earlier that morning.  
  
"...You did too! I heard you!" said Shippo, a small fox-demon with blondish hair and a fluffy tail, riding in the basket on the front of the bicycle.  
  
"Keh! You're too noisy!" InuYasha barked at him. "Don't you ever shut up?" The silver-haired half-demon disdained to look at his irritant, his dog- like ears twitching with impatience and arms folded within his bright red garments as he walked barefooted alongside.  
  
Shippo stood up in the basket and leaned towards InuYasha and shouted, "You did! You did! Last night I heard you!"  
  
InuYasha glanced balefully at the excited kitsune and growled, "Shut. Up. I do not talk in my sleep!"  
  
Shippo stuck his tongue out at him and turned to Kagome. "Kagome, I heard him! I did! He clearly said –"  
  
BONK!!!  
  
"Ouch! Waaah! Kagome! InuYasha's picking on me!!!" Shippo cried, looking for sympathy and rubbing the bump on his head.  
  
"....InuYasha...." Kagome said firmly, with a disgusted look on her face. InuYasha stopped, almost cringing as he looked over at her.  
  
She raised her finger and pointed at him and his furry ears went back, "OSUWARI!"  
  
The beaded rosary around InuYasha's neck gleamed for a second as it forcibly SLAMMED his face into the ground.  
  
Kagome ignored the prone figure as she pushed her bike past him and muttered, "...He knows better...picking on Shippo...he's so young and little..."  
  
Shippo stuck out his tongue again and delivered a juicy raspberry toward the prostrate hanyou as he listened to Kagome listing InuYasha's faults under her breath.  
  
Miroku and Sango passed on either side of the chastised hanyou as they followed Kagome.  
  
Stepping closer to the Monk, Sango said, "You would think he would have learned by now, don't you Houshi-sama?"  
  
Switching his staff to his right hand, he leaned left towards her. "Ah, my dear Sango. Learning implies intelligence, and our hot-tempered friend's skills obviously lie in another direction." He murmured drolly.  
  
Humor lit up her eyes and her hand flew up to hide the smirk on her lips at the Monk's words. Suddenly she gasped, her eyes opened wide and she blushed bright red as she turned and slapped him directly in the face. She stomped forward to join Kagome in their shared disgust at their male companions, the two of them muttering things that made Shippo's eyes grow big.  
  
Miroku stood staring after them, flexing his offensive hand and a bemused smile on his face. With a sigh, he turned back to InuYasha to prod him with his toe. "Are you coming?" He asked.  
  
InuYasha lifted his face out of the dirt to glare at the perverted Monk. Miroku shrugged and said, "Suit yourself," and turned to follow the two women down the path; his right hand holding the jingling staff, his left rubbing the red handprint on his cheek.  
  
InuYasha picked himself out of the dirt, brushing off his clothes as he stood, snarling things under his breath that were best not said out loud and followed.  
  
A few minutes later Kagome stopped, a frown on her face as she looked around. Sango stopped as well and looked over at her. "Kagome-chan?" She looked up at Sango and replied, "I sense a shard..."  
  
Sango looked back at the lagging Monk and hanyou and waved at them to hurry. "Kagome says there is a Shard nearby!"  
  
InuYasha was there in two leaps, Miroku a few steps behind. InuYasha faced her directly and asked, "Where?! Which way?" Kagome closed her eyes to concentrate then pointed off into the forest to the east, "There, over there."  
  
Sango tossed the small cat into the air and shouted, "Kirara!" The cat, in a flaming transformation, turned into a huge fanged cat-demon. Kirara roared and landed on the ground for Sango to hop on her back. Kagome climbed upon InuYasha's back as he picked up her bike to sling it over his shoulder, with Shippo still in the basket before he leapt forward. Followed by Sango on Kirara and with Miroku running along, the group entered the forest heading east.  
  
With Kagome as their compass, they draw closer to their goal. Soon, sounds of howling and shouts could be heard from ahead. InuYasha stopped momentarily to set Kagome and her bicycle down, then rushed forward; ready for anything. Kagome unstrapped her bow and arrows from the pack on the back of the bike and headed in the same direction, notching an arrow as she ran.  
  
"Oi!! Kagomeee!! Wait for me!!" cried Shippo, as he bounded after her.  
  
The last of the protections around the small shrine failed and the youkai swarmed over the valiant old monk just as InuYasha and the others entered the clearing. The companions immediately leapt into action; InuYasha slashing with his claws, Miroku swinging his staff and flinging charms, and Sango, "Hiraikotsu!!" flinging the deadly boomerang.  
  
As the demons turned at this new threat, Kagome rushed to the fallen monk's side and stood over him with her bow ready. Shippo took one look at all the youkai, squeaked and ducked behind a tree.  
  
Sango caught the boomerang upon it's return and prepared to fling it once more when Kirara suddenly stopped and whined, turning to look pleadingly at Sango. Sango paused her throw and looked at the cat-youkai, "What is it, Kirara?" Kirara turned to search through all the confusion then became tense and stared hard at the shrine.  
  
Sango followed her gaze and saw a dark form dash from the doorway of the shrine to disappear into the trees. "...What –" She gasped and grabbed tightly to Kirara's ruff, "Go! Kirara!!" she commanded. The pair left the battle and entered the trees at the same place, giving chase.  
  
"Sankontessou!" InuYasha yelled as he slashed the last remaining youkai, the pieces falling upon the ground.  
  
Kagome set down her bow as she knelt by the old man. His breath was raspy and he was covered in blood. It wasn't hard to see he was dying. She reached down and took hold of his hand and he opened glazed eyes and looked at her. "Who --?" he gasped.  
  
She bent over him and said, "The demons are dead. Your safe..." She thought, _'How do you say your sorry you didn't come sooner?'_ as she stared at the blood covering him and the broken staff still clutched in his other hand. Tears came to her eyes and rolled silently down her cheeks.  
  
Miroku approached them as InuYasha scanned the clearing looking for any stragglers. "Kagome-sama? How...?" He fell silent as he saw the old monk's condition. He had seen death too often to not recognize it now. He knelt down next to Kagome and bowed his head, praying for the old man's safe journey into the afterlife.  
  
Shippo dashed out of the trees and stopped by Kagome. Moved by her sadness, he crawled into her lap and leaned against her in sympathy.  
  
The dying monk choked and wheezed, blood on his lips and in great pain. "...The Scroll... it --"he gasped, "—must not –!"  
  
Miroku and Kagome looked at him in question. "The Scroll...?" Miroku asked. They both leaned closer to hear.  
  
The old man closed his eyes and tried to take a deep breath, the rattling in his lungs audibly loud. "It...must not...gasp...fall into...gag..." His hand gripped Kagome's tightly as he choked on his own blood, desperate to tell them the danger. "...gasp...the hands...of...gasp..." His hand loosed his grip and the tension left his face as with his last breath he said, "...Evil."  
  
Miroku stands, bows his head in respect then turns and walks towards the lonely shrine, his staff jingling with each step. Kagome, with her arms wrapped around Shippo, rises to meet the approaching InuYasha. "InuYasha...we...he's..." she closes her eyes and hugs the kitsune tighter.  
  
The hanyou glances at the blood-covered body and looks the distraught girl over, placing his hands on her shoulders. "I know..." _'I can smell his death all around'_ "Are you alright?" He peered closely at her.

She wiped at her eyes, and gave him a small smile. "Yes. I'm fine."  
  
Miroku appeared in the door of the shrine holding a smashed scroll case. "Kagome-sama! If this is where the scroll was, it's been taken already!"  
  
InuYasha looked at him and the case in his hands. "What scroll?" He sniffed the air again. _'...Something else...what..?'  
_  
Miroku dropped the shattered box, and strolled back to them, dusting off his hands. "Apparently, there was a scroll being protected in this shrine." He gestured to the slain monk, "He told us that it must be kept out of evil's hands, just before he died."  
  
He sighed as his gaze wandered over the body-littered clearing. "We were too late to help the old man and the scroll." He continued to look around, a frown forming on his face. "Where is Sango?"  
  
_'Something familiar...that faint smell...'_ InuYasha eyes narrowed. _'Sango missing...'  
_  
His ears pricked up and he looked hard at Kagome. "Kagome...the shard, where is it?!"  
  
She concentrated, pointed off into the forest opposite of where they had entered and said in surprise, "That way, and it's moving fast!"  
  
InuYasha turned to Miroku, "You stay here with Kagome, I'll find Sango." With that, InuYasha spun around and sprinted into the forest._ 'Damnit...'  
_  
Miroku sighed with understanding and looked at Kagome, "Why don't you look for a good place for a grave Kagome-sama," He started to unravel the beads around his right hand, "...while I clean up the rest."

=======================

Sango ducked another tree branch as she and Kirara sped through the forest, following the elusive glimpses of that other; leaping from limb to limb or dashing between bushes and tree trunks.  
  
_'Why?'_ She ducked again, narrowly missing a face full of leaves._ 'Why can't he do his own dirty work and let you go?'_ She lay low on Kirara's back, leaving the cat-youkai to chase the fleeting figure without distraction. _'...Kohaku!!'  
_


	2. From Scroll to Art

A/N: Here is the next installment (obviously) and the following are a few word translations (spelling is questionable) – Enjoy!  
  
Aneue is the word for 'sister' that Kohaku uses for Sango.  
  
Neisan means 'sister' as well. Inu no Neechan roughly means 'dog brother', Souta's fond nickname for InuYasha  
  
===========================================  
  
**Chapter 2: From Scroll to Art**  
  
Sango ducks behind Hiraikotsu to block yet another swing of Kohaku's blade. "Stop this, Kohaku!" She backs up, sparing a glance at her beloved pet, lying prone on the ground. _'Kirara is all right! It was only stun-powder he threw at her.'_ She brought up the giant boomerang again and used it to force the next attack to the side. Dropping the huge weapon, she leapt forward toward the young boy before he could bring his blade back into play.  
  
She grabbed Kohaku, pinning his arms to his sides as they both fell, kicking and rolling until Sango pinned him to the ground. She wedged his arms under her knees and sat there, both of them panting and covered with dust and leaves. He stared up at her, coldly and emotionless.  
  
It broke her heart a little more each time she saw that look on her young brother's face. She whispered "Kohaku..." her pain audible, "it's me, your Aneue..." He frowned at her as a small flicker of memory came and went in his eyes. She took a deep breath and sighed, wondering what to do now.  
  
His face went sullen and his eyes wandered. Sango, with sudden determination, said "Naraku!" Kohaku's eyes snapped back to her.  
  
She flinched, and tried again. "Naraku! What are his plans?" She searched his face for any hint. "What is he making you do!?!" His silence brought tears to her eyes, blurring her vision. _'Speak to me... please, Kohaku...remember me...oh God, please!!'_ She began to sob.  
  
Kohaku swiftly brought his knees up and slammed her in the back, causing her to roll forward over him. Free at last, he jumped up and ran into the trees, grabbing his blade in passing.  
  
She lurched up and screamed after his disappearing form, "KOHAKU!!"  
  
She stopped herself, looked back at Kirara lying helpless and bowed her head in despair. Sango dropped to her knees and began to cry heartbrokenly, her shoulders shaking with each jagged breath. _'Kohaku...'_  
  
Sango is so wrought up in her feelings, she doesn't hear InuYasha come crashing through the trees. _'His scent is fading, no sense trying to follow...'_ He looks at the distraught young woman and the prone Kirara, _'and I can't leave them like this.'  
_  
InuYasha stood there, trying not to intrude, then walked over to Kirara as the cat-demon began to stir. _'Good, Sango doesn't need any more...'_ He bent down to put his hand on the head of the great twin-tailed youkai as her large eyes blinked open. InuYasha stepped back as she groaned to her feet and began to walk off the effects of the powder. He looked around, too embarrassed to approach Sango just yet and noticed a roll of paper tied with a ribbon laying in the dirt.  
  
Kirara went up to Sango and sat down in front of her distraught mistress and butted her gently with her head. Sango gasped and flung her arms around the large neck and buried her face in the deep fur. Kirara grumbled in encouragement, as InuYasha bent down to pick up the scroll.  
  
=======  
  
The group journeys back to Kaede's village after burying the dead monk. They discuss what they should do with the scroll, which turned out to be completely blank except for a small mark in one corner meaning 'Truth.' There were no clues in the now empty shrine, and no one to answer their questions. They all agree to put the puzzle in Kaede's hands.  
  
=======  
  
"...And neither myself nor Kagome-sama can sense anything from it." Miroku was explaining to Kaede, as they sat around the firepit in her hut. "It appears to be just a blank scroll." He handed the ribbon-tied roll of paper back to her.  
  
Kaede turned it over in her hands a few times...then tossed the scroll in the hearth-fire, causing everyone to gasp. "Look Houshi-dono, everyone..." They all stared at the scroll enveloped by flames. "It does not burn. This is more than just a blank scroll."  
  
InuYasha, who was leaning against the wall, uncrossed his arms and walked over to the center pit to snatch the scroll from the dying fire. He examined it for scorch marks. "Then what should we do with it, Kaede-baba?" He said snidely.  
  
Kaede squinted up at him and sighed. "I think that since Naraku desires it, it should be removed far out of his reach." She put her hand out toward the silver-haired hanyou, and he placed the roll in it and stepped over to the doorway to move the heavy flap and breathed deeply of the clear night air.  
  
Kaede met each of their eyes in turn, and then held the scroll out to Kagome. Kagome looked puzzled but took it.  
  
"Kagome, you should take this back with you to your country where Naraku and his minions can never find it." The elderly woman picked up her cup and sipped from it. "Until we know better of what we deal with, it will be safer with Kagome."  
  
Kagome nodded thoughtfully. "Hai, Kaede-bachan," and turned to put the object in her pack. She stood up and shouldered her pack and smiled at everyone. "I should be back in two days."  
  
"Are you ready yet, Kagome?" InuYasha said impatiently.  
  
She rolled her eyes and said, "Yes, InuYasha. I'm ready to go." She walked across the hut to the door where the hanyou just exited, gave a small wave to the room and went out into the dark.  
  
=======  
  
The loud ringing of her alarm clock startles Kagome out of sleep. An arm reaches out from under the covers and smacks the snooze button and disappears back from whence it came.  
  
A while later – "Kagome!" Her mother calls from downstairs, "Are you coming to breakfast?" Kagome rolls over and yawns, stretching and trying to wake herself up. She sits up, blinking at the clock on her nightstand. "Hrumm..." blink She shakes her head and looks at it again..."Oh, no! I'm late!!"  
  
"I'll be there in a minute, Mama!" Kagome jumps out of bed and rushes around, getting dressed and dumping out her bag to put her schoolbooks and homework in it and hurries towards the stairs. Souta, still wearing his pajamas, is almost knocked down by her haste.  
  
"What are you doing, Souta?" She said in surprise, grabbing his shoulders to keep him from falling. "You're not dressed yet and you're going to be late for school!"  
  
The small dark-haired boy, rubbing his eyes and sniffling replied, "Mama is making me stay home today. I have a cold."  
  
"Oh...well...I hope you feel better. Maybe when I get back, if your feeling up to it, I'll tell you what I and the others have been doing lately."  
  
His eyes lit up, "Hai, Neisan! Inu no Neechan too?"  
  
She mussed his hair and smirked, "Yes, InuYasha too." She moved past him and bounded down the stairs. "See ya later, squirt!"  
  
With a smile on his face, Souta wiped his nose on his pajama sleeve and went back to bed.  
  
=======  
  
Souta lay in bed staring at the walls in his room, posters and photos but mostly at his drawings. Some were of cartoon characters, some were of friends and places, and his latest ones of his idol; InuYasha. He would never forget that day when the 'No-Men' mask attacked them, trying to get the Shikon no Tama shards from Kagome. He had been so scared, when she yelled at him to go to the well and get InuYasha while she lured the creature away.  
  
Going down into the well had been almost as scary, but the thought of her counting on him gave him the courage to jump. It had been a real disappointment when he only hit the bottom and wasn't magically transported to the past.  
  
When InuYasha had suddenly appeared looking strong and confident, his fear completely disappeared. He had been exhilarated by the fast trip on InuYasha's back to where the voracious demon had Kagome trapped. And when InuYasha, after a fast battle, completely destroyed that frightening thing... _'WOW! He was soooooo cool!'_ He shivered with the thought of more stories of how InuYasha and the others overcame all the monsters in that other place.  
  
Restless, he got up to get his crayons and some paper. He could smell Mama cooking lunch and decided to draw until it was time to eat.  
  
===  
  
After lunch and an hour of homework as he had promised Mama, Souta put his books away and open the drawer for more drawing paper only to find he had used the last piece. _'Darn! I don't want to use line paper, that only makes the pictures look silly.'_

He sat at his desk in disappointment for a few minutes, swinging his bare feet. _'I know, Kagome always has extra paper'_ and he got up and crossed the hall to his big sister's room. In her hurry her door wasn't shut all the way and he walked right in, stepping over a pile consisting of a blanket, flashlight and various other odds and ends that she always took on her forays through the well.  
  
He searched in all the desk drawers but could only find more line paper. He made a sound of disgust and sat down hard on the floor, pouting. He looked at the messy pile on the floor, small pebbles and crushed flowers were mixed into untidy tangle. _'Probably from that kitsune she always talks about.'_ He sighed. _'I sure wish I could go and see it all and have grand adventures of my own.'  
_  
Peeking out from under a fold of Kagome's jacket was a roll of what looked like... "Paper!" Souta reached over and pulled out the roll of paper that was tied with a ribbon. He slipped the ribbon off and unrolled it. It turned out to be one long piece about five feet long and totally blank except for a small mark in one corner. "I bet I could draw a whole story on this!" He rolled it up and carried it back to his room.  
  
=======  
  
Kagome waved good-bye to her friends as they parted ways to walk home after school. Her thoughts turned to the history test tomorrow and what she should make to eat for her friends in the past when she went to rejoin them after school.  
  
The sun was shining and the birds were chasing each other in the trees. The gentle breeze played with her hair as she turned a corner and took her usual short cut through the park, her mind still turned inwards.  
  
The peaceful quiet was shattered with screaming that startled her and she whipped her head around toward the sounds coming from the playground area; _'Those are children screaming!'_ and she took off running towards the frantic cries for help.  
  
Some older children ran past her in the opposite direction as she raced forward. The sandbox and swings came into view and she stopped dead in her tracks. There were a few small children huddled together under the enclosed spiral slide, clutching each other and crying. Two others, screams tearing out of them, were being waved about in the air in the clutches of _'...a Demon?!?!'  
_  
The thing stood about fifteen feet tall, had four green scaly arms with clawed hands at the end of each, a long spiked tail that whipped about madly and a bulbous body that was covered with matted brown fur. The real horror was the hideous laughter coming from its gaping fang-filled mouth, green saliva dripping to the ground**. "HA HA HA! I'M GOING TO EAT YOU!"  
**  
The small group under the slide began screaming louder, a chorus echoing their two friends who were first on the menu. Kagome, in desperation swiftly picked up a fist-sized rock and hurled it at the monster where it bounced off of one gleaming tooth. It ignored her and kept laughing, eyeing its tasty meal.  
  
_'What do I do?'_ She started to panic. _'I don't have my bow, and InuYasha is not...'  
_  
"Unhand that child!! I, by the power of my sword will destroy you!!" A figure dressed all in red with two dog-like ears showing through his long silvery-white hair and a huge sword slung casually over his shoulder commanded.  
  
_'...Here?!?!'_  
  
=========================================  
  
- A/N: Ha ha, I know that was an evil place to leave it but I just couldn't resist. Please Review.


	3. Fight in the Park

A/N: Some quick definitions (remember, spelling is questionable)  
  
Demme = one epithet Inu uses often Ahou-ja = you moron  
  
Sankontessou = soul shattering iron claw  
  
Okaidi = welcome back Baka = idiot  
  
===============================================  
  
**Chapter 3: Fight in the Park**  
  
The long piece of paper kept wanting to roll up, so Souta anchored it down with a shoe and a baseball mitt on the floor, it's inviting length churning his imagination. He grabbed his crayons and lay down in front of it. Reaching for the brown, he started to draw.  
  
=====  
  
Kagome stood staring in amazement at InuYasha challenging the huge hairy creature...in her neighborhood park! _'How did he know?'  
_  
The beast turned to face the hanyou directly and scoffed loudly, **"HA HA HA, AND WHO ARE YOU?"  
**  
InuYasha leapt to stand on top of an historic statue and proudly stated, "I am the Mighty InuYasha!" He raised his sword over his head and posed with his chest puffed up.  
  
Disbelief raced across Kagome's face._ 'What the...'  
_  
Arms waving and tail lashing, the hulking brute continued to laugh unconcernedly, **"HA HA HA! THEN YOU'LL BE NEXT IN MY BELLY, YOU DIRTY RAT!!"** With that, it raised one screaming child toward its gaping maw.  
  
InuYasha rushed forward blindingly fast and swiped the targeted arm with his free hand, claws spread wide, "Sankontessou!" The severed arm fell empty, the child plucked from harm as InuYasha sped past.  
  
He gently set the crying girl down and spun to face the bellowing monster. InuYasha sheathed his sword and leapt at the creature again, aiming for the other child-burdened arm. "Sankontessou!!" and another child is timely rescued.  
  
**"HOW DARE YOU COME BETWEEN ME AND MY MEAL!"** The thrashing tail knocks over a drinking fountain and the two remaining arms start to pound the ground as the beast roars its frustration.** "AARRRRGGGGGGGG!!"  
**  
InuYasha's sword is back in his hand as he faces the creature once more. "I'll teach you to pick on little kids, you Big Bully!"  
  
The hairy brute lumbered forward and swings at the boastful hanyou, and in a flash of silver and red, another arm lies severed on the ground. The serpentine tail lashes out and plucks InuYasha off the ground as he lands, wrapped tightly and raised up high, it flings him forcibly through the air, slamming into the side of the stone-walled park bathroom.  
  
Kagome gasped. "InuYasha!" she shouted in spite of herself. She took a step forward then stopped as the fallen hanyou moved to stand. She sighed in relief, her heart pounding.  
  
"Demme..." InuYasha snarled, "Game Over!" He took a few running steps and leapt into the air above the bleeding creature, both hands curled around the sword's handle, magic currents forming and twisting along the blade. He swung the sword sweepingly downward "Kaze no Kizu!!"  
  
A wave of energy emerged in the wake of the blade's path and spread outward to envelop the now cowering beast, its remaining arm covering its terrified eyes. Its dying scream cut short by a bright flash...and all that remains is a drifting pile of dust that the breeze begins to disperse.  
  
Kagome runs over to him, thankful that the danger was over but with questions on her lips. She stops next to him and looks for any damage, hands clenching with a need she denies herself. "InuYasha, are you alright?"  
  
He stands there with Tessusaiga propped casually over his shoulder and a smug look on his face. InuYasha nods in satisfaction, sheaths the sword and turns to walk away.  
  
Surprised at his lack of answer, she follows. "InuYasha, wait" She reaches for his shoulder, "InuYasha...?" Just as her hand touches cloth and the warm flesh and bone beneath it... it's gone.  
  
Disappeared.  
  
Kagome stops, blinking her disbelieving eyes at the empty spot. She looks around desperately. The gushing water from the broken fountain...the ever shrinking pile of dust...the small huddle of crying children...the rather large cracks in the stone building...and InuYasha's footprints in the dirt that just...stop.  
  
_'What is going on?'  
_  
=====  
  
Souta drops the red crayon back into its box and sits up to admire his work. He smiled and closed the box to put it away. Eyeing the still blank part of the paper he thought, _'I'll have to think of more.'_ He picks up the mitt and shoe and watches the paper regain its curled state with amusement.  
  
=====  
  
A noise halts the urgent conversation around the cook fire and Miroku, Sango, Shippo and Kaede turn towards its source.  
  
InuYasha stands confused in the doorway of Kaede's hut, its occupants startled shouts making no sense coming from four raised voices at once as they gather around him in concern, until Kaede's voice rises higher to demand an overall silence. "InuYasha..."  
  
His eyes blink a few times then focus on her face. "...I..." He shakes himself and takes a deep breath.  
  
Kaede peers myopically at his strained face. "What happened to thee?"  
  
He looks down at the dust on his clothes and smells the ichor under his claws. "I..." His gaze went to Kaede's questioning one, "I think...I just fought a monster..." He frowns in concentration, "...I'm not sure, it's...it seems like a dream." He flexes his slightly sore shoulders.  
  
She shared a look with the others and turned back to InuYasha. "Can ye remember ought else?" She waited with more patience than the others.  
  
He thought hard through the haze in his mind, "There were children...screaming..."  
  
Sango gasped and the small Kirara squeaked in her tightened embrace. Miroku places a comforting hand on her shoulder. "And...?" he prompted. Shippo, fluffy tail twitching, scrambled up onto the Monk's shoulder, the better to see.  
  
InuYasha frowned harder, "...It was trying to...eat them." His frown faded, a satisfied smirk taking its place, "I defeated it." He crossed his arms and pushed past them to sit cross-legged near the fire.  
  
Miroku and Sango stare after InuYasha with identical expressions long suffering disgust.  
  
Shippo mutters "Ahou-ja..." before jumping down and going back to where he had been sitting before.  
  
Kaede was more thoughtful and still puzzled as she approached the smug hanyou. "But InuYasha, where was it and how did ye get there?" She stood next to him, watching his face as he looked for the answer.  
  
Finally he shrugged, "What does it matter? I won and that's all that counts." He re-crossed his arms and assumed an aloof expression.  
  
Her disgust matched the others' at last. "Have ye no curiosity on the how of your disappearance and reappearance?"  
  
He didn't look so smug, as they waited for a response. An idea occurred to him just before he opened his mouth. He pulled his sword in its sheath from his belt and held it up. "Maybe Tessusaiga brought me there to fight that creature and brought me back after I...won."  
  
His declarative statement was unconvincing, even to himself, and he slid the sword and sheath back in his belt. He tried to brazen it out by looking confidant in the face of the other's incredulous disbelief. Stunned silence was his reward and he re-crossed his arms to sit proudly.  
  
"......Ahou-ja!"  
  
=====  
  
Kagome slammed through the front door. "I'm home!" she sang out. Her mother stepped into the entryway, drying her hands on her apron as Kagome slipped her shoes off. She smiled at her out-of-breath daughter, "Okaidi Kagome. How did your day go?"  
  
The teenager toed off her second shoe as her shoulders slump in weariness. "Not good, I think, Mama." She straightened and looked at her mother in frustration. "I spend so much time in the past, you would think History wouldn't be so difficult." _'...The past...'_ She quickly headed for the stairs, "Mama, are the replacement bandages in the cupboard and do you think we still have some ramen? I don't have time to go to the store."  
  
She was halfway up before her mother responded. "Yes and yes...but Kagome, I thought you weren't going back until tomorrow? Don't you have a test?" Her hands twist in her apron and a concerned frown marred her brow.  
  
Kagome didn't stop her progress and answered back, "Plans have changed!" She charged up the stairs and stepped into her room while slipping her pack off, almost tripping on the pile of things she had dumped out just this morning. _'That will never do...'_ This time she dumped her pack out onto the bed, gathered up her school things and stacked them neatly on her desk.  
  
She turned and sat on the floor to sift through the mess, finding the things she needed to take with her and setting aside the things she didn't. Pushing, guiltily, the small pile of unnecessary things under her bed _'I'll take care of those when I get back,'_ she stood up with her freshly re- filled pack and dashed back out of her room.  
  
Souta was there by his door, looking rumpled in his pajamas and hair sticking out every-which-way. "Neisan..." His smile slowly faded, "You're leaving again?" He followed her to the stairs, "But you just got home!" His disappointment was clear.  
  
She turned at the top of the stairs and ruffled his messy hair some more. "Sorry, squirt. I gotta go." Kagome went swiftly down the stairs and headed to the kitchen to get the rest of her supplies.  
  
Souta stood staring after her and wiped his drippy nose on his abused sleeve. _'Neisan...you promised...'_ He sighed and trudged back to his bed.  
  
=====  
  
InuYasha stomped out of the hut impatiently, tired of the endless questioning. He better get out of there before he said or did something everyone would regret. _'How can I tell them something I don't know?'_ He kicked a pebble out of his path, "Keh!"  
  
He strode to the edge of the village, passing a few of the inhabitants who gave him a wide berth. Most were used to him being about, but anyone with any sense would avoid the distempered hanyou when he wore his anger so visibly.  
  
He stood looking out over the fields and nearby hills with his hands hidden in his sleeves. _'This being around others all the time is difficult'_ He watched a group of birds fly up into the sky and stared at the pure white clouds until his eyes hurt. He squinted and forced himself to focus on the depthless sky. _'What did happen?'_ He sighed deeply, and felt his restlessness ease.  
  
He bowed his head and closed his strained eyes as his thoughts turned inward. _'I have no idea how I got there or how I returned...'_ He frowned,_ '...could it have been a dream?'_ He remembered the dust, the smells and the familiar aches... _'No. It was definitely real. How then?'_ His eyes opened as anger began to grow anew. _'And who?'  
_  
He took another deep breath and blew it out sharply, his yellow gaze scanning all around for some hidden foe._ '...Wait...'_ He inhaled with purpose this time, a faint smile crossing his face, _'...yes!'_ He turned and headed for the Bone Eater's Well, his anger forgotten. "Kagome."  
  
=====  
  
"He better have a good explanation..." Kagome grunted as she pulled herself over the edge of the old well. She sighed and sat on the rim, tossing her pack to the ground. She blew her bangs out of her eyes and thought about the park..._ 'How did he disappear like that?'_ She bit her lower lip in worry, _'but more importantly...why did he ignore me? Is he mad at me?'_ She sighed again and tilted her head back, looking at nothing, _'...and how did he know I needed him?'  
_  
She bent down to pick up her pack and when she straightened, he was there...rushing toward her out of the trees. Her heart started to race and her face felt hot, _'...every time...every time I see him...'_ She stood up just as he reached her and composed herself before speaking.  
  
"InuYa--"  
  
'Kagom--"  
  
They both stopped in confusion. Kagome was quicker to regain her wits, "InuYasha, are you alright?"  
  
Puzzled, he stared at her..."That should be my line. You're a day early. Is something wrong?"  
  
Her mouth fell open in amazement. "Something wrong?!?" Anger began to build, "You come to my time...fight in public... you Ignore Me?!?!" She dropped the pack and raised her hand to poke him in the chest with an accusing finger, "And you ask me if something is WRONG?!?!!"  
  
It was his turn to be amazed, his eyes growing huge, _'What the...'_ He grabbed the hand that was still poking him, "Kagome, how did you know?"  
  
Shock and anger took over and she yanked her hand out of his grasp. "HOW??" He backed up in the face of her fury, "HOW??" She stepped forward for every one he took back, her pack forgotten on the ground. "Are you STUPID?? I was RIGHT THERE!!!" He raised his hands in front of him instinctively as she continued to fume. "...And You IGNORED Me!"  
  
He said the only thing that came to his mind, "I did?"  
  
"...**BAKA!!!**" She screamed and pushed past him to head towards the village. At the edge of the trees she turned back, "**BAKA!!**" She spun around and went into the trees and out of view.  
  
InuYasha stood there, confusion and relief vying for supremacy. _'At lest she didn't sit me.'_ He went back to the well to retrieve her backpack, slinging it over his shoulder and debated on giving her more time to cool off before trying to talk to her again.  
  
_'So that's where I was...and Kagome was there too?'_ He frowned, _'Why didn't I see her?'_ He shifted the pack more comfortably and slowly walked in the direction Kagome took, _'Not possible, even if I couldn't see her...' _He inhaled deeply, senses alive, _'...I would smell her.'_ He entered the forest, deep in thought.  
  
============================================

AN - I just re-edited...I wasn't too happy with the way chapters 1,2 & 3 read. The changes are small but less confusing. I like it anyway and I hope you will also.


	4. Quiet Moments and a Deadly Confrontation

A/N: A few quick translations: Hai = yes/ok - Ne = hey  
  
********************************************************  
  
Chapter 4: Quiet Moments and a Deadly Confrontation  
  
The stars shone brilliantly overhead and crickets played their night- song as Kagome stepped though the flap of Kaede's hut, stretching the kinks out from sitting for so long in discussion with the others...minus InuYasha. She didn't blame him, not the way she had screamed at him earlier at the well. She hung her head in shame and pulled her sweater closer around her neck. 'I wouldn't want to talk to me if I were him.' Noticing her pack lying next to the doorway, she turned to look on the roof...no sulking hanyou. 'Hmm...'  
  
She looked around at the darkness, much darker than back home at night. She breathed in the silence, appreciating the lack of streetlights and the never-ending noise of traffic. Kagome stared at the breathtaking blanket of stars wheeling overhead and listened the sounds of evening; wind rustling the leaves and grass, echoing chirps of night-flyers, the crickets and other insects adding to the symphony. 'I never get tired of this...this simple beauty.' The small breeze shifted her hair and made her shiver a bit.  
  
'Now...I wonder where...?' She looked in the direction of the well...and the God Tree, where she first met InuYasha. 'No, he really doesn't like to be reminded of...' An image of a pale face, much like her own but different, drifted through her mind. A person who shouldn't exist, but then... '...Like my being here is a normal thing either,' she scoffed to herself. Banishing the resurrected Miko from her thoughts, she concluded, 'Most likely, he's in his tree waiting for the moon to rise.'  
  
She turned to walk in her chosen direction, wandering past other dark village huts, smoke from cook-fires drifting from ventilation holes and broken bits of conversation coming from inside made only minor distractions. 'The place might be different, but the people are basically the same. They just want to safely live their lives.'  
  
Moving past the last of the dwellings Kagome headed for a single line of trees near the edge of the village, more specifically the last one. It had nicely placed branches but none near the ground, perfect for a capable hanyou to find solitude. It had an unobstructed view of the nearby hills and surrounding fields.  
  
She stopped a few feet from the trunk and peered up through the sparse foliage. '...There...' She could just make out his form on the uppermost limb, his silvery hair reflecting the starlight. Nervousness struck and her mouth wouldn't open, so she decided to sit down at the base of the tree and wait. 'What am I so afraid of?' She hugged her knees to her chest and shivered again. 'We're friends...aren't...' a noise from above drew her head up, and something dropped down in front of her, crouched low. '...we?'  
  
InuYasha stared at her in the shifting shadows under the tree, his eyes glimmering gold. He waited silently, abnormally patient and featureless in the dark.  
  
Kagome hugged her knees tighter, "InuYasha..." She paused, looking for the right words. "I..." She took a deep breath, "I'm sorry I yelled at you earlier." It came out in a rush, her sudden relief making her shiver again and she dropped her eyes in embarrassment. She waited for a response from him...dreading another argument. The silence stretched and the playful breeze fluttered strands of silver-white at the edge of her vision, followed by a rustling movement. Sudden warmth enveloped her and he dropped to sit beside her on the grass. She grabbed the edges of his robe, draped over her shoulders, and pulled it in closer, its warmth from his body and his scent making her head spin. He leaned back on his hands, legs outstretched and tilted his head back to look up at the sky, his white shirt ghostly pale in the darkness. "Keh --" it was softer than usual and Kagome buried her nose in the strangely comforting material to hide her small smile, knowing his vision would easily make-out her amusement. They sat silently for quite a while, listening to the night together until the half moon peeked over the distant ridge.  
  
"Kagome..." He sat forward and crossed both legs and arms and breathed deeply. Her head turned, the curves of her face so clear to him, so dear...and her earlier words still echoing in his mind. "I would never ignore you, I don't know why...I didn't...I couldn't..." His rushed words tripped over themselves and stopped. He dared not look at her or he might loose his courage to continue. "I'm sorry you were worried."  
  
He could feel her gaze on him but still wouldn't meet her eyes.  
  
"InuYasha, the others told me what happened earlier...and that you don't know what had happened today any more then they do." She reached out and placed her hand on his arm, strong and warm beneath its sleeve. "I should have paid more attention. You weren't acting like yourself...I mean you do brag," he turned at that, a frown squinting across his face, "and do reckless things..." His frown deepened. "But even if I hadn't noticed that horrible silliness coming out of your mouth..." The object of that statement fell open, "...The way you disappeared should have made me realize there was more going on." She patted his arm before pulling back into her warm shelter.  
  
He stared at her for a few more seconds, speechless. She rose up clutching the fire-rat's robe closed at her throat and smiled down at him, "Shall we go back to Kaede's and get some sleep, InuYasha?"  
  
He sat looking up at her, watching the breeze playfully arrange her black hair over his garment with a sudden longing. Thankful that the darkness hid his flushed face from her human eyes, he jumped up and turned towards the village, "Hai, Kagome. We should get an early start tomorrow."  
  
He took a few steps before her voice stopped him. "Tomorrow?" He looked back over his shoulder at her puzzled tone. "What are we doing tomorrow?"  
  
He half-turned towards her, his left hand gripping Tessusaiga hanging in his belt and a scowl forming as he answered. "We're going to find the Bastard who's screwing with me," his right hand closed into a tight fist, "and end his Meddling!"  
  
She followed him silently back through the village, each lost in their own thoughts.  
  
*************  
  
The next morning they were gathering their things before heading out.  
  
They had just finished eating and InuYasha was standing impatiently, holding the door flap to the side and assessing the weather. The early morning mist had vanished except for a patch or two floating in shady areas. Otherwise it looked to be a sunny day.  
  
"Ne, InuYasha..." Kagome spoke up while stuffing things in her bag. He turns to look over his shoulder at her.  
  
"Do you know which way we should go?" The others turned at this to look his way.  
  
"Keh!" He turned his back to the interior and all the questioning faces.  
  
Sango and Kagome share a knowing glance as Miroku voices the same thought. "I guess we'll just follow InuYasha's nose..." InuYasha's ears twitch with every other word. "...As usual," the Monk adds drolly.  
  
InuYasha's ears went flat and he spun around to issue a scathing comment at that mocking Houshi. He paused with his mouth open and closed it to take a deeper sniff of something...infernally familiar. His irritation turns to deep anger as adrenaline rushes and his heart starts to pound in anticipation.  
  
Kagome, always acutely aware of him, notices first, "InuYasha?"  
  
His eyes, burning gold, meet hers and he says one word, "Naraku!" He spins around and is out the door before the others can register the meaning.  
  
Within seconds they had all grabbed their various weaponry and dashed outside to try to catch up to the pursuing Hanyou, following him through the village and into the forest.  
  
They enter the woods and before long they stop when confronted with several youkai of various types and leading them...Kagura!  
  
InuYasha skids to a stop and snarls, "Bitch! What do you want now?" He flexes his claws and sizes up the band of opposing demons. 'Heh! They're all wimps!'  
  
Kagura tilts her head arrogantly, "Fool! Why bother asking?" She waves her closed fan in front of her contemptuous face, "Besides, it's not what 'I' want!" She points with the fan with a bored look, "Kill them!"  
  
The motley band of youkai surge forward with murderous intent, snarling and snapping they spread out to meet each in battle.  
  
Miroku reaches for the beads wrapped around his right hand, but hesitates when he spots several of Naraku's deadly bees emerge from the nearby foliage to hover, here and there, around the clearing. He quickly stoops to pick up his recently dropped staff and swings it in one motion up from the ground at the face of an approaching beast.  
  
Sango steps forward with her huge boomerang and begins a series of sweeping blows to fend off her attackers with a transformed Kirara at her side. Slashing and rending, leaping and growling, the twin-tailed cat-youkai was more than a match for these lesser demons. The two made a lethal team, leaving corpses in their wake.  
  
Kaede hung back, out of breath from the run and watched, impressed at the ease the companions worked together and watched each other's backs in the thick of the fighting; proof to her of the strong ties of friendship that had grown over the months of searching. She could feel Shippo shaking as he clung to her shoulder and didn't blame him for being afraid.  
  
Kagome stood next to Kaede with an arrow ready if any should get through to come at the elderly Miko, her eyes fixed on a whirling figure in red dealing death with every action. His silvery-white hair flashing in the sunlight as he slashed with his claws to dispatch yet another of the clueless demons, before spinning to leap for another...and another...and another. 'Oh, InuYasha...will it ever end?'  
  
Finally, the last falls and silence returns as the victorious group turn, one by one, to face the only one remaining – Kagura. She crosses her arms and surveys the carnage, 'Damn! That went too fast!'  
  
InuYasha takes a step in her direction and draws Tessusaiga, it's transformation from rusty blade to a deadly fang commanding her gaze. He holds it aggressively and snaps out, "Is that the best you got, Bitch!"  
  
She sighs, "How bothersome you are." Her fan opens and she waves it almost casually and a swirling vortex of wind whips through the air, flinging debris everywhere. She smiles and raises her arm high and sweeps it down forcefully, "Fuijin no Mai!" Blades of air blast across the space between them to slam in rapid-fire jolts against InuYasha's blade, turned crosswise in defense. A few air-blades get past to push him back, grunting with each impact.  
  
A blazing arrow tears though Kagura's hanging sleeve.  
  
"Kagura!!" Kagome yells, and the wind-user stands motionless looking at the ragged edges of material flapping in the twisting air then turns to glare angrily at the young Miko located across the clearing with another arrow notched and ready to fly...aimed at her. Her glance takes in once more the singed material exposing her forearm before turning back towards the fiercely challenging girl whose power was frighteningly strong.  
  
"My next arrow won't miss!" Kagome's anger filled every word and the arrow began to glow, yet she held it.  
  
Shippo squeaks and grabs for a tighter hold on Kaede's neck in fear of the fury emanating from the girl. Kaede reaches up to comfort with one hand as she decides it would be prudent for them to back away from this confrontation as Kagome continues. "Why have you come here?"  
  
'Damn little Bitch! I can't compete with her...' Her eyes flicked to either side furtively, 'Where is that Brat?' To Kagome she said contemptuously, "Mind your own business – Your lack of manners is showing!"  
  
She turned partially in the girl's direction. 'Shit! This is getting too dangerous!' Kagura drops her arm and assumes an unconcerned stance. "This is between 'Fido' and Me!"  
  
InuYasha growls under his breath at this.  
  
She looks right at Kagome, internally aware of the surrounding area, and sneered, "You weren't invited!"  
  
"I'm not playing with you!" Kagome tightens her grip on her bow, feeling the tension across her shoulders as she maintained her aim. Thoughts of all the damage Kagura had caused and all that she could cause fixed her determination to stop this arrogant underling of Naraku...whatever the means. "Answer me! Why are you here?!"  
  
Kagura stepped back in alarm, her eyes going wide as she searched for a delaying response. 'Damnit!'  
  
A slight movement at the corner of her vision...something flies out of the shadows...straight at Kagome and slices through the bowstring!  
  
The tension snaps the string, making it recoil towards Kagome's face. She flinches and drops the arrow, it's glow fading as the thrown knife thuds into a tree.  
  
Kagura suddenly waves her opened fan, sending a blast of air rushing at the distracted girl.  
  
"Shit!" InuYasha leaps frantically into it's path to block it, barely catching it with a counter-swing from Tessusaiga. The deflected dust-filled wave still has enough force to knock most of them to the ground.  
  
As the clashing energies dissipate and the air clears they see Kagura floating upwards on her giant feather-raft, a smaller figure seated next to her and the whole followed by swarming bees.  
  
InuYasha sheathes Tessusaiga with a sound of frustration and disgust, and turns to help Kagome up. "Are you hurt, Kagome?" He examines her quickly and gently touches her cheek near a small red mark where the bowstring had flicked her.  
  
She looked at him with similar concern, "I'm fine, you're the one..." She gulped and flung her arms around his neck and hugged him in relief.  
  
Kaede and Shippo return from their refuge behind a tree just as Miroku picks himself up and brushes off his robes, his eyes on the retreating figures. He sighs and turns his sympathetic gaze to the young woman that, though she had just fought like a warrior, was now held captive by her own fragile emotions.  
  
Kirara limps over to Sango sitting in the dirt, her Hiraikotsu lying next to her, forgotten. The big cat plops down and leans on her for comfort as they both watch the feather dwindle into the distance, carrying Kagura and Kohaku out of reach.  
  
To Be Continued... 


	5. Revealed, the Scroll of Truth

A/N – Disclaimer – I don't own InuYasha or any of the other contents of the series. A few quick translations – Hai = yes/ok – shouki = poisonous cloud/mist from evil energies – denkaku = palace – nonni = what – Neesan = sister – Inu-no-Oniichan = dog brother  
  
Chapter 5: Revealed, the Scroll of Truth  
  
************************  
  
Kagura is crouched in an incongruously large feather speeding through the clouds, passing over forested hills and craggy cliffs, accompanied by Naraku's oversized bees. Her thoughts turn dark after discovering that Kohaku had come back empty-handed. She spares a glance at the young human boy seated behind her. 'It's not my fault. I did what I was supposed to.' His blank stare was unchanging, 'Ugh! He gives me the creeps...'  
  
She turns halfway around to face him better and snaps her fingers in his face to get his attention. "Are you sure you looked thoroughly?" She waits impatiently for his response.  
  
"...Hai." His voice is barely audible above the rushing air and the irritating drone of the huge bees.  
  
"Well," she sneers, "you certainly took long enough." Sighing with distaste she taunts him. "He'll probably kill us both for failing, you especially for losing it in the first place." Her red eyes squint with evil intent, finding his immutable impassivity irresistible. "Maybe I should save him half the trouble and push you out right here!" She watches his face for a response and receives none.  
  
One of the bees leaves its group to hover in front her, making her shoo it away with, "Don't worry – I wasn't going to!"  
  
She turns her back on the black-haired boy and begins to stroke her fan nervously, her eye drawn to the dark mist in the distance, the only visible mark of the their destination; the shouki of their master...Naraku.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
The villagers have just started their usual morning routine when the wind blown and dusty companions come trudging back out of the forest.  
  
One man carrying a large woven basket stops in surprise, "Kaede-sama?"  
  
The old woman pats his arm as she passed, "It's alright Soji. Everything is fine." Kaede continues to lead the way though the village, the energetic little Kitsune scampering alongside.  
  
Many stop to stare at the bedraggled group but quickly go on their way after a scowl from the irritated hanyou. They draw near Kaede's hut, indistinguishable from the others, and Shippo dashes ahead through the doorway.  
  
"Eeek!" He pops back out and waves at his friends, "Everyone! Come quick!" They all rush forward, Kaede being passed by the rest, to crowd into the door. As their eyes adjust to the dimness, they all gasp in surprise at the appalling mess they find inside.  
  
The contents of Kagome's pack were strewn all about, mixed with various other things belonging to the rest. Some of the floorboards had been pried up as well and Kaede's food stores dumped out and bags sliced open.  
  
"InuYasha-sama!" A small, disembodied voice greeted them. "I'm so glad you have returned."  
  
InuYasha flinches and smacks his neck. Lying in his hand is a large flea looking a little smashed.  
  
"Myouga-jiji," they all chorus.  
  
The somewhat intelligent but cowardly Myouga picks himself up and peers gladly up at all of them.  
  
"How long have you been here?" InuYasha squints in suspicion and questions him; "Did you have anything to do with this mess?"  
  
"Ah, InuYasha-sama," he starts to blubber, "How cruel! To think that I could do such a thing!" **sniff-sniff** He suddenly sobers and says in a very serious voice, "No, but I did arrive to see someone leaving in a hurry- "  
  
"-So you hid." InuYasha stated with disgust.  
  
"Well..." Myouga clears his throat, "that's besides the point." He turns to face Sango and bows, his forehead touching InuYasha's palm, "I'm sorry, Sango."  
  
She looks at him in surprise with Kirara in her arms and he continues without looking up, "It was Kohaku."  
  
Sango glances around the small room with the huge mess and turns around to go outside, hoping to drown the shadows in her mind with the bright sunlight.  
  
Kaede steps farther into her home, carefully stepping over a hole. She surveys the destruction while shaking her head and begins to roll-up her sleeves. "Best we get started on this, before the day be wasted."  
  
Kagome sets her bow down by the door and starts picking things up. Miroku looks at the doorway, sighs and leans his staff next to it and turns to help. InuYasha sets Myouga down and picks up a bowl to examine a large crack on one side, '...this crack is too big to repair...' To the flea he asks, "What brings you here this time, Myouga?" He sets the bowl down on a growing pile of discards and reaches for the pot lying on its side.  
  
The tiny youkai hops over to a pile of spilled rice and picks up one grain to toss it into a bowl set aside for it. He turns to grab another before he answers, "Ah, as to that," another grain lands in the bowl as he continues.  
  
"I have been hearing many rumors lately about a legendary sacred object, so I thought I would come to the area to find out if it was true." A grain of rice flies through the air to land in the bowl, his aim is quite good. "I found the location where it should have been, but the shrine had been ransacked and the caretaker gone." He sighed and contemplated the white surface of the rice he held. "Now I'll never get to see the scroll."  
  
Everyone in the room stops what they're doing and turn to look at the small historian, "Scroll?" they all ask.  
  
He keeps gathering rice, not noticing their attention. "Yes, a very ancient scroll; supposedly a gift from the gods but never really proven."  
  
The others trade looks and Kagome asks, "Gods?"  
  
"Hai, a Goddess actually, though I've never heard which one." He puffs up importantly, "It's known as 'Ariyou Makimono Shinju,' a legend so old, many have forgotten it." He sighs again and goes back to gathering rice.  
  
Kaede repeats it aloud, "The Scroll of Truth."  
  
Miroku dusts his hands off and asks, "What do you know about this 'Scroll', Myouga-sama?" They all pay close attention as Myouga tells the story –  
  
~*~*~  
  
"Long ago, there was a young man called Yoshiro. He was a good man who loved his land and took very good care of his people. Lord Yoshiro lived in a modest denkaku that was surrounded by the most beautiful garden. The young Lord cared for the garden with his own hands, and seeing his gentleness, the birds stayed willingly all year long, filling the garden with music even through the winter months.  
  
For many years, they lived in peace and prosperity. Now it came to pass that the neighboring Lords were not so peace-minded and would make war on each other for very little reason. Lord Yoshiro, not liking war at all, made treaties and bargains with the other Lords to keep his lands and people safe.  
  
But the years went by, and his lands still prospered while the other Lords continued to fight and argue among themselves. Finally, Lord Yoshiro received the news that two armies from two provinces on either side of his own had crossed his borders and were planning to meet and do battle...on HIS land, it being on the shortest route.  
  
This disturbed the young Lord greatly and he sequestered himself in his garden with only his childhood friend, Ippei, to keep him company.  
  
He knew that he was not prepared to defend against any military advances: he had always kept the other greedy Lords at bay with politics and charm. His personal guard was not enough to protect them all. So he spent the night praying to the Gods to spare his land and people from the terrible ravages that war brings.  
  
Now as it happens, this man's good works did not go unnoticed and when the Sun's first rays touched the topmost branch of the willow tree in the middle of the garden, a beautiful Goddess appeared before him, her radiance rivaling the morning light.  
  
Lord Yoshiro immediately bows down, deeming himself not worthy of looking upon her most August face. Ippei, of even less personage, throws himself upon the ground and covers his head with his arms.  
  
The birds fall silent as Her voice, reminiscent of the soft breath of wind blowing across summer grass, flows over them until it is all they hear.  
  
"I have come to thee in thy need. Thy plight and sincere anguish have touched my heart."  
  
She steps forward to stand directly in front of the young lord, flowers bursting from the earth as she passes.  
  
"Rise up, Yoshiro and accept my gift." She holds out a scroll and hands it to him as he stands. "With this scroll, thou canst protect thy land and thy people. Whatever thou mayest write upon its surface will come to pass."  
  
The Goddess' voice becomes stern as a mother's, and she admonishes him, "Have a care, Yoshiro. This is a very costly gift, and I would not have you pay its price. When thou art finished and thy deed is done, thee MUST destroy the scroll straight away...or thy life is forfeit."  
  
Lord Yoshiro is of course very grateful and promises to build a shrine to her most August self on this very spot and care for it himself in thanks.  
  
The Goddess is pleased with his promise and disappears in a bright flash, causing all the birds to begin singing loudly with much joy.  
  
His hope renewed Lord Yoshiro calls for writing tools. Wishing a bloodless solution, he decides that a thick fog, too thick to fight in, would frustrate the two armies and they would give up and go home, buying him time to negotiate with the two Lords involved and end the hostilities in a more civilized manner. And so he writes.  
  
Immediately a mist begins to rise from the ground, blanketing the land from border to border. The young Lord, in his excitement and impressed with his cleverness, had to see for himself his plan working. So he and Ippei traveled quickly to the designated battleground. They found it easily, knowing every inch of the land so well, they could have found their way in the blackest night and even a divine fog.  
  
The two armies, which were already in position to fight and about to charge at each other, were stopped by the dense mist and milled about in confusion.  
  
The young Lord and his friend stood among the trees at the edge of the field listening to the confused shouts echoing in the distance, calling for direction, when they heard a noise behind them.  
  
Too late - a young samurai, who had become separated from his fellows, mistook them for the enemy and ran his sword through Yoshiro. Upon seeing the richness of the wounded man's clothing and his lack of weapons, the warrior realizes his mistake and turns to run back into the concealing fog.  
  
Lord Yoshiro falls back and lay in Ippei's arms, his wound mortal. He hands the scroll to Ippei and tells him to destroy it as the Goddess had commanded, and then dies.  
  
Ippei, full of grief for his friend, carries his Lord's body back to his palace. He orders a shrine built to honor the Goddess as Yoshiro had promised to do, then gathers his things and leaves, never to return, taking the scroll with him."  
  
~*~*~  
  
Myouga shrugs his tiny flea shoulders and tosses another grain of rice into the bowl. "No one knows if he destroyed it, or used it." He sighs, "Its been a long time since rumors of its existence have been heard, so long, most don't even know the tale anymore." He looks way up at his silent audience, "So, when I heard mention of it being guarded at a hidden shrine and youkai searching for it, I wanted to see for myself if it was true."  
  
"Hmm..." Miroku crosses his arms and nods to himself, "that sounds just like the scroll we found the other day."  
  
"Nonni?" Myouga stares at him in astonishment. "You found the Scroll of Truth?!?" He bounces over to the contemplative Monk and leaps to stand on his sleeve, jiggling in excitement, "Where is it? I want to see!" He stops his fidgeting and clears his throat, "To study it from a purely academic point of view, of course."  
  
"Of, course," Miroku echoes in amusement.  
  
Kagome shares a worried look with Kaede and says, "Maybe I should go get it."  
  
The old woman nods in agreement, "Hai, Kagome. We did not know what we had. It would be best we make sure of its identity."  
  
"Huh?" Myouga droops in disappointment, "it's not here?"  
  
The Monk answers him. "As it was Naraku's minions who killed the old monk that was keeping it safe to try and take the scroll, we thought it best to place it out of his reach until we knew more about it." Miroku looks back at Kaede and nods as well, "I agree, If it is the same scroll..."  
  
"Kagome," InuYasha speaks up finally, "let's go."  
  
A determined look on her face, Kagome nods and crosses the room and is followed out the door by the serious hanyou.  
  
Miroku sighs and looks longingly at the door, then over at the old woman that frowns at him in suspicion. He smiles at her, shrugs and turns to continue picking things up.  
  
~*~*~  
  
InuYasha and Kagome enter her home to the smell of something good coming from the kitchen. "I'm back!" she calls as she kicks off her shoes. InuYasha sees Buyo lazing in the front room and sneaks up on him with a smirk. Kagome shakes her head in amusement and thinks, 'poor cat...' as the doggish hanyou pounces on the hapless lump of a feline. 'The others don't get to see this playful side of him often...' She turns away and heads up the stairs to her room to retrieve the scroll.  
  
Her room is just as she left it. She drops to her knees to pull out the mess under her bed, tsk'ing to herself and making a mental note to take care of it just as soon as she has time. She digs through the pile...'it's not here.' She frowns and looks at her desk, 'I wonder...' She gets up and goes through all the drawers, starting to panic, 'not here either!' Kagome steps over to the closet and begins to push things around and toss things aside and finds...nothing. 'Maybe...Mama...?' A hope.  
  
Kagome opens her door just as her Mother reaches the top of the stairs carrying a tray with a bowl of soup on it. "Okaidi, Kagome." Her smile of greeting is more careworn than she remembers seeing it before.  
  
Kagome asks, "Mama, have you seen a roll of paper anywhere? I left it in my room, but I can't find it now."  
  
Her Mother thinks for a second and answers, "I can't say that I have, but I'm sure it will turn up." Always trying to soothe everyone's problems. Her daughter frowns and nods and notices the tray.  
  
"Is Souta still sick, Mama?"  
  
"Yes," she says with a worried frown. "I don't understand it, he was only a little congested with a low fever. He's had it before and he's usually better the next day. Now the fever and the congestion are gone, but he seems so weak..." She glances at the tray, "...and he's hardly eating." She looks up at Kagome, "I think I need to call the doctor."  
  
Kagome reaches out and takes the tray from her Mother, "I'll take it in to him. Maybe I could tell him a story and cheer him up."  
  
"That would be nice. He's been asking when you would be back." She heads for the stairs and turns back with her hand on the railing. "Should I send InuYasha up, do you think?"  
  
Kagome hesitates and says, "in a few minutes, Mama. Let's see if I can get him to eat first." She winks at her Mother, "Maybe I'll use that as a bribe!"  
  
Mrs. Higurashi gives a little smile in understanding before continuing down the stairs.  
  
Kagome's mirth disappears as worry takes over. She carries the tray to Souta's room, pushing open the door with her elbow. It's a little dim with the curtains blocking out the midday light, but she can make out the hump under the blankets that was her little brother.  
  
She sets the tray down on the desk and walks over to the bed. "Souta." No response. She puts a hand on part of the lump that might be a shoulder and gives it a gentle shake, "Souta?"  
  
A groan and the lump moves. Turning over and pushing the covers off his head, Souta blinks sleepily up at her, "Neesan?" His voice barely a whisper.  
  
"Hi-ya Squirt, playing hooky from school, huh?" She reaches over to pull the curtains open, flooding the room with light. "Time to wake up, Sleepyhead." She puts her hands on her hips and looks down at him, trying to not be alarmed at his pallor. "Mama made you some soup, and it sure smells good."  
  
He puts out a hand to shade his eyes and squints at her, "I'm not hungry."  
  
She crosses her arms and sighs with dramatically, "What a shame, and here I told InuYasha he couldn't come up unless you had your lunch first." She shakes her head back and forth disappointedly, as his eyes open wide. "I guess I'll just have to tell him you're too sick for visitors..."  
  
As she starts to turn away, a small hand shoots out to grab hers, "Inu-no- Oniichan is here too?"  
  
She looks over her shoulder at his pale face and nods, "Uh huh."  
  
Souta looks at the tray across the room with determination, "Ok, Neesan, I'll eat."  
  
He tries to sit up and falls back. Alarmed at his weakness, Kagome helps him to sit, bracing his back with pillows and he leans back with a sigh.  
  
She turns her back to hide her worried frown and tries to compose her face as she retrieves the tray from the desk...and notices a familiar white roll of paper lying next to the tray. She had overlooked it in the dark, but it was now quite easy to see now. She picks up the tray, her mind racing, and carries it back to the bed where she places it across Souta's lap and tucks a napkin under his chin.  
  
As he starts to eat she turns back to the desk and reaches for the roll hesitantly, 'Please don't be...'  
  
Kagome unrolled the paper completely, skimming over the brightly colored pictures drawn there, searching for that small symbol meaning... "Truth," she whispers, staring at the mark that she didn't want to be there.  
  
"Souta, where...?" she stopped, finally seeing the pictures dancing across the surface and the words accompanying them in comic-style bubbles. 'Ha Ha Ha, you dirty rat...I, the mighty InuYasha...next in my belly...Big Bully...Game Over!'  
  
Kagome closes her eyes, leaning with both hands on the desktop and swallows hard, letting the Scroll curl back up. 'No...no...NO! Why didn't I hide it...lock it away...or something?!'  
  
The spoon clanks in the bowl, hard, making Kagome spin in surprise. Souta is slumped back on the pillows; his eyes closed and limp. She rushes to him and puts her hand on his chest to feel his heart beating slowly and his chest moving faintly with each shallow breath.  
  
She quickly moves the tray to the floor next to the bed and takes hold of his shoulders to shake him. "Souta!" Her voice an urgent plea, "Souta!"  
  
His eyes blink, "Sorry...Neesan...I can't eat anymore," his lids droop heavily, "too...sleepy..." and he nods off once more.  
  
Only a little relieved, she grabs the Scroll and goes out to the top of the stairs to call, "InuYasha," trying to sound calm when she's anything but. 'Mama is worried enough.'  
  
The hanyou's head pokes out of the doorway, ears twitching and looks up at her. She raises her brows and waves for him to come up...NOW.  
  
He takes the stairs easily and looks questioningly at her. She puts her finger to her lips for silence, grabs his arm and drags him into her room, shutting them in. Kagome leans back against the closed door, her shoulders slumping in despair and InuYasha frowns at her, "Kagome, what's wrong?"  
  
She looks up at him with teary eyes and hands him the Scroll, "Take a look." She leans her head back and watches him unroll the Scroll and waits for his reaction, her heart aching.  
  
"What the...?" InuYasha raises surprised eyes to look at her, "Is that ME?"  
  
She nods. "Look at them all," she sniffs and continues as he peruses the drawings, "It's that day in the park, exactly as it happened."  
  
InuYasha's jaw dropped, "But how...Who...?" Her tears halted his question and he put two and two together, "...Souta?"  
  
She nods again and brushes her hand across her wet cheeks, listening to him curse. "He must have found it...I should have been more careful...hidden it..." She sniffs again, the tears falling in earnest now, "It's MY FAULT!" Her choked whisper in no way lessened the intensity of her words. "...My fault." She sobbed and covered her face with her hands.  
  
InuYasha drops the Scroll to pull her into his arms, trying to comfort them both. She grabs onto his haori, her voice muffled against his chest though he can still hear her tormented, "My fault," repeated again as his mind races. '...Souta...damnit!'  
  
He glances down at the Scroll on the floor, half unrolled, bright colors peeking out gaily belying its deadliness. '...Pay its price,' echoes through his head, '...Life is forfeit...' He mutters, "destroy it."  
  
Kagome pushes back, blinks at him and hiccups, "What?"  
  
He turns, snatches the Scroll off of the floor and holds it up, crushing it in his hand, "We must destroy the Scroll before Souta pays the price for using it!"  
  
She wipes her eyes and tries to focus her thoughts, "Yes!" Her face falls again, "But how? We can't burn it." She turns her head in the direction of her brother's room, "And we don't know how much time we have." Her worry was painfully obvious. "It's only been about a day since he used it," she bites her lip, "...he's so weak and there is no reason for it." She looks up at him, "Mama wants to call a doctor."  
  
She barely has time to get out of the way of the door, and follows on his heels to Souta's room. She stands at the doorway as InuYasha stops next to her brother's bed to stare down at the sleeping boy. She watches as the hanyou reaches out with a clawed hand to gently brush hair away from Souta's face and her heart skips.  
  
A thought occurs to her and she speaks it aloud, "Maybe Myouga-jiji will know what to do." He spins around, they share a look and they both head for the stairs.  
  
Kagome and InuYasha rush down the steps and just as they were about to exit the house, she grabs his sleeve to stop him, "Wait!" He turns questioningly. "I'll go get Jichan to sit with Souta and keep an eye on him. I don't want him to be alone..."  
  
He nods and watches her dash through the inner door calling for her Grandfather. Lifting the Scroll, still clenched tightly in his hand, he scowls at it, 'Damn thing!'  
  
He suddenly grabs it with his other hand and vainly tries to tear it, grunting with the exertion – to no effect. It remains unharmed, not a wrinkle marks its brightly colored surface; mocking his efforts.  
  
He snarls in frustration and awaits Kagome's return, glad she did not witness his failure.  
  
Kagome rushes in with her Grandfather and waves him towards the stairs, "Go on Jichan," she makes an urgent shooing motion, "We'll be back as soon as we can." As his foot lands on the bottom step, she adds, "and try to keep him awake, somehow...anyway you can think of."  
  
The old man turns to squint at her, "But, Kagome...?"  
  
"Not now, Jichan. I'll explain everything later!" She turns to the waiting hanyou, "Let's go, InuYasha!" The pair leaves together, heading for the old building across the Shrine grounds...and help, hopefully.  
  
Down the wooden stairs and into the well they go...  
  
Floating in a seemingly timeless and featureless place, they quietly enter the past, emerging at the bottom of the well, its silent dimness comfortingly familiar.  
  
InuYasha suddenly looks at his empty hands then searches frantically around the well's dirt floor.  
  
He looks at Kagome in shock, "The Scroll!" Her eyes widen in realization.  
  
"It's gone!"  
  
To be continued...  
  
*********************  
  
A/N – I found the perfect place for Japanese to English translations! You ought to check it out - (it's my new friend...LoL!) 'Ariyou Makimono Shinju' roughly translates into 'truth-the way things are or should be, scroll or rolled sheet, divine gift.' I just put the words together, it may not be literally correct, but it works. 


	6. Self Destruction

_**Disclaimer** – I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters. They are the property of the brilliant Rumiko Takahashi. This story is an individual creation that I hope is up to the quality of the real series. Creative critisism is always welcome. _

**Thank You** to ShortPoet for the reviews, they were truly inspiring. And to my friends, Oldwolf, Sweetlyttledevil4u, Nikki, and Cupidsdelight for they're enthusiasm and support.

_**To red-lady-love** – Congratulations on your upcoming blessed event and I would like to thank you for your reviews. I really appreciate the input and I'm very glad you are enjoying my story. You are never too old to need your mother because you will always be her baby. And let your man take care of you. He's half the reason for your condition (LOL) and that's as it should be. I'd like to wish you and yours a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!_

**Translation Notes** – Ite/ouch – nani/what – Goshinboku/God Tree – odotto/younger brother

---------------------

**Chapter Six: Self Destruction**

The mysterious, measureless space between times is traveled once more by two who are familiar with the strange floating feeling that occurs here.

But the young schoolgirl and the silver-haired hanyou are too impatient to appreciate the sensation on their hurried return trip to the present.

'_InuYasha couldn't have dropped it,'_ the girl thought to herself as the walls of the dry well began to be discernable out of the formlessness.

The pair step lightly onto the dirt surface as gravity once again takes hold. And lying there, as if waiting for them, is the Scroll.

Kagome picks up the hated thing, "Why won't it go back through the well?" She looks at InuYasha with puzzlement, "It came forward to 'now', why won't it go back?"

He crosses his arms and frowns, "I don't know…" His arms drop and he sighs, "…but I bet Myouga might."

In a sudden move, InuYasha picks her up in his arms and before she can protest, leaps out of the well to set her gently on her feet in the wellhouse.

"You stay here with the Scroll, Kagome." He holds her until she has her balance. "I'll go back and find out everything he knows about this thing." He looks hard into her eyes, "I'll be right back."

She gulps and nods, holding her breath and the Scroll in both hands.

InuYasha turns and leaps back down into the well…and is gone.

Kagome stands there in confusion trying to catch her breath_, 'Sometimes he can be so…'_ She sighs_, '…wonderful.' _She slowly climbs the rickety stairs, slides open the doors and stands staring at her house; at Souta's bedroom window. The curtains are still open. She looks down at the Scroll in her hand, _'I don't want this thing anywhere near him.'_

Holding her skirt, she sits on the wooden stoop to wait.

----------------------

InuYasha takes great leaping strides back to Kaede's hut and bursts through the doorway, startling everyone still in the process of straightening things up. "Myouga!" He barks out commandingly.

Kaede, Miroku, Sango, and Shippo all stare at him then in unison point towards the corner where the tiny scholar had been pursuing stray grains of rice.

Myouga comes bouncing out of the shadows, "InuYasha-sama, wh-" He is cut off as the impatient hanyou snatches him up and starts questioning him.

"How do we destroy the Scroll?" His intensity captivates everyone's attention.

The small fleas stands up on InuYasha's palm and, waving his multiple arms, looks up at him. "Can I see it?" He starts hopping from foot to foot in excitement, "Where is it?"

"Kagome has it," he bites out. He asks again, "How do we destroy it?"

Sango steps forward, looking at the empty doorway then back at InuYasha, "Where is Kagome-chan?"

InuYasha sighs and grits out between his teeth, "She's at home." To the flea, "Do you know how?!"

Miroku butts in this time, "But I thought you both were bringing the Scroll back here?"

InuYasha glares at the Monk, "It won't come back through the well, so Kagome stayed behind with it." He shakes his hand with the flea-youkai in it and demands impatiently, "Well??"

Kaede sighs and sets her broom aside, shaking her head, "Getting information out of ye is like pulling weeds; the root is always elusive and there's always more to pull."

She comes closer and looks directly at the agitated hanyou who returns her look with a stubborn one of his own. "Now, InuYasha, what is wrong?"

He rolls his eyes at her and says with fangs showing, "Souta used the Scroll – it won't come back through the well – and we need to destroy it before it kills him!"

His glare shifted back down at Myouga, "Well?"

Sango reaches out and grabs InuYasha's sleeve and asks worriedly, "Kagome-chan's otouto?"

He glances distractedly and nods. She puts her hand over her mouth in concern for her friend, _'Oh, Kagome-chan…'_

Miroku puts an arm around her shoulders, startling her into looking up at him. He gives her a gentle squeeze causing her to blush as they all wait for Myouga's wisdom.

The flea clears his throat, "…Umm…I don't know."

"What?!" they all chorus.

The poor little flea is knocked onto his back with the force of their outburst and he raises three of his arms in defense. "I-I-I've told you all I kn-n-now!" He stutters quickly. Myouga looks up at all the huge disbelieving faces surrounding him, his gaze caught by the growing anger spreading across the hanyou's face with his fangs showing, making his appearance ominous, and rushes to placate him.

"The legend doesn't mention how to destroy the Scroll; at least none of the versions I've ever heard did. And I've never bothered to research it before because it was a good possibility that it didn't even exist." His little face brightened, "InuYasha-sama, maybe we could burn it?"

A growl began deep in the hanyou's throat, and everyone else took a step back.

InuYasha's closes his hand around the unfortunate flea and throws him across the room, "KEH!" Whirling, he disappears out the door.

Those left standing consider themselves lucky not to be on the receiving end of InuYasha's anger.

Shippo strolls over to bend over the crumpled flea lying on the floor, "Myouga-jiji?"

The flea in question pushes himself to a sitting position, rubbing his head, and looks up at the Kitsune, "Itai…nani?"

"We already tried that." He watches the flea's eyes roll up as he flops back to the floor.

---------------------

InuYasha hops out of the well in the present day to the smell of gunpowder drifting through the open doors of the wellhouse. He doesn't hesitate to leap past the stairs to the outside, almost tripping over Kagome sitting on the stoop, and stumbling to the side as she turns and stands. "InuYasha!"

He regains his balance, windmilling his arms comically and shoots her an annoyed look, "Damnit woman! Watch where you're sitting!"

Kagome covers her mouth to hide her sudden smile and turns her back to compose herself.

He scowls at her back then scans the area for the source of that acrid smell. The Scroll is lying on the ground about fifteen feet away surrounded by a scorch mark.

He frowns in puzzlement and calls her, "Kagome." She faces him and he asks, "What is that all about?"

She pushes some stray hair behind her ear and shrugs. "I thought that maybe I could blow it up, so I raided Jichan's stash of fireworks…" She shrugs and gestures to the unharmed Scroll, "As you can see, it didn't work."

She steps closer, hope plainly on her face, "Well? Did Myouga-jiji know what to do?"

He shook his head, disgusted with the wasted trip; time lost that they couldn't afford to loose and hated the way the light left her expressive eyes. _'…Maybe…'_ an idea that had been floating in the back of his mind became more acceptable in a situation with few options.

He pulls out his sword. "I have an idea." Tessusaiga transforms in his hand and he faces the Scroll. Kagome's eyes widen and he glances at her, "Stand back."

She quickly moves out of the way, clasping her hands prayer-like with anxiety and biting her lip.

InuYasha braces himself, secures his footing and focuses on the Scroll and on calling forth the power of his weapon.

Mystic forces begin twisting along the blade and he raises it over his head. The blade sweeps in a downward arc, "Kaze no Kizu!" and the force is released, cutting across and over the Scroll, obscuring it from view.

Kagome holds her breath and InuYasha gazes intently, both of them…waiting.

The energies slowly dissipate to reveal the unharmed Scroll, lying exactly as it was.

"NO!" Kagome stares at it, shaking her head.

"Damnit!" InuYasha spits out and takes a few steps to one side, frowning fiercely at the Scroll and muttering under his breath, then stepping back and reassuming his attack stance.

Kagome watches as Tessusaiga slowly turns a blood red and the twisting forces return, twining caressingly along the blade.

InuYasha again raises his Father's Legacy over his head and brings it down powerfully, "Tessaiga!!"

The wave of force washes over the target, once more enveloping the Scroll in a violent flare.

The girl and hanyou wait for the burning energies to withdraw, not surprised this time but just as disappointed when the desired result is denied them yet again.

InuYasha drops to a crouch and starts punching the ground with his free hand, cursing with every blow.

Kagome turns away to begin pacing with her arms crossed, back and forth behind the frustrated half-demon, glancing every now and then at the hated Scroll lying innocently across gouges in the ground left behind from Tessusaiga's failed attacks. _'What could destroy something a god created?'_ she asks herself, trying to ignore the sputtering hanyou. _'What could possibly be powerful enough…?'_

InuYasha had taken up tossing pebbles any which way and was still snarling with Tessusaiga discarded in the dirt, dull and rusty in its untransformed state.

'…_Powerful…enough…to destroy it?'_ She watches him get up to stomp around kicking the dirt and still cursing, her thoughts turned inward, '_if only we could wish it away…'_

Her eyes widen and she stops her pacing, staring at nothing. Her sudden notion holding her motionless with its simplicity then drives her to walk over and pick up the object of all the trouble caused. Out loud she says, "I know what to do."

InuYasha halts and stares at her calm face and out-of-place smile. It's not a happy smile but a malevolent one, one he has never before seen on this human girl's face, and it disturbs him.

She meets his stare and holds the Scroll up. "It's so simple," her voice devoid of emotion as she shakes her head. "We'll make it destroy itself!"

He stands stunned and watches her run back to the house. He blinks in sudden understanding and snatches Tessusaiga up to follow her inside and up to her room. He stands in the doorway as she digs through her desk looking for something to write with.

"Ah!" She grabs the pen and slams the Scroll onto the desktop, pushing it open to a blank part and starts scratching the pen across the surface. She makes a sound of frustration and throws the pen on the floor and begins searching the drawers again.

InuYasha watches her go through two more pens only to toss them aside as well. She finally finds a pencil and starts writing frantically…nothing…she scribbles the tip furiously back and forth…nothing.

Snap! The small piece of graphite rolls in a circle on the paper. Kagome stares in disbelief at the broken pencil in her hand and at the thrice-damned Scroll thwarting her every effort to save her brother.

"NO!" She snaps the pencil in two and throws the useless pieces aside, then leans tiredly with her hands on the desk and hangs her head in defeat, the bright colors on the Scroll seeming to laugh at her.

InuYasha can't stand seeing her like this. Her despair hurting him worse than any arrow ever did. He slowly moves to stand behind her, reaching out but hesitating, feeling helpless. _'I didn't protect her from this…'_ guilty thoughts torment his soul and his hand closes into a tight fist, then drops to hang limply at his side_. 'I shouldn't have let her take the Scroll,'_ forgetting that it hadn't been his decision alone.

Kagome stares down at the colorful figures acting out a young boy's fantasies. "He shouldn't have to die for having dreams!" Her raspy whisper only flails the conscience-stricken InuYasha more. "It's not right!"

She continues to watch the two-dimensional play that Souta had drawn, _'…drawn?'_ She straightens, holding the Scroll open and lifting it up before her like a banner for some great announcement. "Souta drew this!"

InuYasha looks at the back of her head in concern, wondering if the girl had lost her mind. "Yes," he agreed cautiously, "Souta drew that."

She turns to face him, excitement replacing the sorrow that had beaten her down only a moment ago, "No, you don't understand; Souta drew ON this!"

He nods at her, still puzzled.

"Maybe Souta is the only one who can, because he was the one who used it in the first place!"

Stumped once more, he stands there sorting it out in his head as she rushes past him and out into the hall.

Kagome flings open Souta's door and hurries over to the bed. Her Grandfather stands up, looking worried, "I can't keep him awake, Kagome." He holds up a singed feather to wave it in her face, making her nose wrinkle from the stink of it. "Not even this sure-fire way that my Great-Great-Grandfather--"

She grimaces and pushes his hand away, "Not now Jichan!" She drops the Scroll on the blanket over Souta's legs and grabs the boy's shoulders to lift and shake him. "Souta!" His unresponsive state a challenge she was determined to overcome. She shakes him harder and his head flops like a rag-doll's, "Souta!" but his eyes remain closed.

Kagome is peripherally aware of InuYasha entering the room behind her, but her attention stays focused on her unconscious brother. In desperation, she slaps him across the face.

Jichan grabs her arm in protest "Kagome-" and she pushes him away, _'Did his eyelids flutter, or did I imagine it?' _She calls out, "SOUTA!" There…another twitch. She slaps him again, "SOUTA! Please wake up!"

'_Please…please…'_ she prays silently and holds her breath, listening to the soft groan that issues from his mouth and watching him struggle to move. "Souta! Open your eyes!" They flutter again_, 'that's it…come-on…'_

His eyes open blearily looking dazedly up at her, "On...ee…san…?"

She smiles widely at his whispered question. "InuYasha, get me something to write with, hurry!" Kagome sits next to her brother on the bed and braces him with her arm and pulls the Scroll up across his lap with her free hand.

Souta's head lolls back onto her shoulder and she can feel his breath on her neck. She pats his cheek, "Stay with me, Souta!" Something red appears beside her and InuYasha holds out a blue crayon. She grabs it and wraps Souta's hand around it placing it on the paper. "Souta?"

"Hai… Oneesan?" it was a little stronger sounding.

"Souta, you have to write what I tell you to. Do you understand?"

The hand holding the crayon moved on it's own under hers and his head tilted forward as his eyes blinked, trying to focus, "…hai."

"Now write; This-"

The crayon begins to move, spelling out the word, _'yes! It's working!'_ She watches the blue-colored wax mark the crayon's path on the white surface.

"Scroll-" She could see InuYasha standing next to her Grandfather but could not spare them a glance, her attention on her task, "Is-" but their presence bolstered her confidence.

"By-" Souta slowly writes each word, "It's-" as Kagome dictates. "Own-" She hears her Mother's steps coming from the hallway, "Power-" and pausing in the doorway. "Destroyed."

The Scroll begins to glow and InuYasha grabs it, throwing it on the floor. Mrs. Higurashi gasps and her Grandfather hides behind InuYasha as they all watch the Scroll of Truth, a divine gift given long ago, brighten almost blindingly. Then, with a small shower of sparkling lights, it dissolves completely.

Jichan walks over to look at the empty spot on the floor, and Mama steps into the room and looks at them all with her eyes wide. "Kagome, Souta…what…?"

Souta sits up and turns his head to look at his sister still sitting beside him, "Oneesan?" The color was returning to his face and his eyes were alive with curiosity.

She returns his look, examining his healthy demeanor, relief making her vision blur, "Oh, Souta!" Kagome wraps her arms around him and hugs him tightly, making him squirm.

"Aww… Oneesan!" He struggles to escape and finally notices the silver-haired hanyou all in red standing nearby. He looks up at the golden eyes gazing down at them, "Inu no Oniichan!"

InuYasha watches as the energetic boy wriggles away from his emotional sister and slides off the bed, standing barefooted in his wrinkled pajamas and rumpled hair. He starts chattering away and grabs hold of the red sleeve, "What kind of monsters did you…"

Mrs. Higurashi comes over to put her hand on Souta's forehead, smiling at the coolness there, and asks him how he feels…

Grandpa follows her, exclaiming on how amazing it all was…

InuYasha's head starts to spin with their closeness, and their talking all at once ends up blurring in his ears making him want to put his hands over them…if Souta wasn't holding one arm and Kagome's mother the other one.

"What in the world…?" "Where…go…?" "What was…?" "…Hungry?" One after another, running over each other's words, making no sense to the hapless Hanyou.

Kagome sat alone on the bed staring at her precious family; her kind and patient Mother, her wacky Grandfather, and her little brother that she had almost lost… _'And it would have been my fault if…if…'_ She put her hand to her chest, pressing on the pain she could feel inside making it hard to breathe. _'…If…'_

InuYasha watches in surprise as Kagome suddenly leaps up, dodges around her family still gabbing at him, and rushes out of the room. Her mother calls after her but she doesn't answer.

InuYasha turns as if to follow, and is pulled up short by the small hands still holding him. He looks down at the young boy, completely different than a few minutes before and full of life, gently loosens Souta's grip and ruffles his hair in apology, squeezes past the now quietly thoughtful woman and cagey old man, and leaves the room.

Her scent is easy to follow, down the stairs and outside. He stops outside after closing the front door and scans the grounds, ears twitching.

When Kagome reaches the Goshinboku she leans heavily against it on one shoulder, eyes burning and out of breath_. 'I was careless…my fault…Souta could have…'_ Tears running down her cheeks she drops to her knees and hunches forward, arms wrapped around herself and sobbing hysterically, her hair falling around her face and blocking out the world as she gives into her misery. _'My fault…'_

"Kagome?"

She hiccups to a ragged stop, unable to block out His voice, and wipes at her eyes. And waits.

"…Good job."

'_What?'_ Her eyes open wide and she looks over her shoulder to stare at him, cheeks flush with emotion. "Good job?" she echoes.

"You figured out what needed to be done." He smiled at her, a little smug at having gotten her to stop crying; he couldn't stand to see her cry.

Her disbelief growing, "good…job," keeping pace with her rising anger. She stands up to face him, eyes flashing, "Good job?"

InuYasha's smile disappears, _'Uh oh…'_

Her hands clinch into fists, "Was it a 'Good Job' to carelessly leave that Damned Thing where he could find it?!"

He takes a step back at the vehemence in her voice, the look in her eyes making him cringe inside.

"He could have died…" her voice drops to a whisper, "…and it would have been…" Her eyes turn bleak, "…My Fault." Her tears return.

InuYasha stares at her, aching, "But he didn't die!" He steps closer, "YOU saved him," another step, "We, none of us, knew what that scroll was." One last step, "We made the best decision at the time."

He grabs her arms and gives her a little shake to make her focus on him, "Think…What would have happened if Naraku," he spits out the name in distaste, "had gotten hold of it?"

Kagome stares up at him in horror at the possibilities, "Oh…My God!"

He nods at her, "And _He_ obviously knew what it was." He shakes his head as his thoughts go around, "If anyone had to 'accidentally' use it, I'm glad it was someone without evil thoughts…like Souta."

She frowns painfully, trying to see past the image of her brother at the bigger picture.

InuYasha bends his head, struggling for the right thing to say, "Things can go wrong…things you can't control." She looks up at him, listening to his softly spoken words, "You fix what you can…and let go of what you can't." He moves in very close, eye to eye with the captivated girl, "You can't tear yourself up with might-have-been's."

Her eyes widen as he wraps his arms around her and holds her close, his heart beating strongly against hers and his warm breath brushes past her ear as he whispers, "Everything we've been through…you're courage humbles me."

Kagome buries her face in the red material mentioned only in fables, the returning tears dampening it, and feels the pain in her heart ease; it's thumping rhythm changing. After a few moments, she raises her head and meets his gaze, seeing something smoldering there…

His face turns red, making her blush and she pushes out of his arms to turn away, wiping her eyes and brushing her hands over her skirt. He turns away as well, hiding his hands in his full sleeves.

She peeks back at him; the breeze ruffling his long silvery-white hair starkly contrasted against his brilliant red garments, the false confidence barely covering his embarrassment, and smiles to herself.

"Kagome!"

They both turn to look towards the house at Mrs. Higurashi's call. She is standing just in the doorway, one hand on the frame looking their way and waves with her other hand. She calls out, "Are you and InuYasha staying for dinner?"

Kagome chuckles under her breath, _'the world could almost come to an end…and dinner is still made.' _She rolls her eyes and looks at her dog-eared friend, who shrugs back at her.

She answers back with a wide smile, "Hai, Mama!"

-------------------

The trees bend gently in the nighttime breeze making their leaves rustle, a soft background to the cricket's song drifting up from the undergrowth in the forest.

Shippo hops down from the edge of the Bone-eater's well and sighs with boredom. "C'mon Myouga, I'm hungry. Let's go back to Kaede-obachan's."

The tiny flea-youkai stares down the dark throat of the well, empty as it had been all day. He frowns, wishing he could jump in and follow InuYasha where he had gone. But he knew he couldn't…climbing out of that deep hole once in one day was enough for him. With one last look, he jumps down onto Shippo's head. "I only wanted to see it…"

Shippo rolls his eyes, "yeah – yeah – I know!" The little Kitsune follows the path that leads back to the village, and supper…not noticing the dark form hidden in the trees, watching…plotting…

_**The End**_

_**Next Story – Tangled Ambitions**_

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_**Author's Note** – I know, I know…how evil of me…LOL! I hope you enjoyed it! I'm almost ashamed of myself for the new plot…almost._


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